22-Year-Old Ukrainian Becomes Women’s World Champion

Mariya Muzychuk, a 22-year-old student of a chess school in Stryi (Lviv Region), was recently crowned the 15th Women’s World Chess Champion after defeating Russian Natalia Pogonina 2.5-1.5 at the FIDE Women’s Chess World Championships. The result was never much in doubt; Mariya dominated the match, was never behind in any individual game, and nearly decided the set in the third game. Maria is a two-time Ukrainian Champion (2012 & 2013), played on Ukraine’s 2013 World and European Team Champions, and helped Ukraine to bronze in the 2012 and 2014 Chess Olympiads. She is the younger sister of Anna Muzychuk, a GM since 2012, reigning Women’s World Blitz Champion, and currently ranked 4th in the world. With the win, Maria also becomes a GM.

Chess is hugely popular in Lviv and is regularly played in parks and on the streets. Popular tourist photographs are of old men playing along the city’s iconic Prospekt Svoboda. Lviv has a proud chess tradition and the sisters follow a long line of world-class chess players that hail from the area, including: Alexander Beliavsky, Oleg Romanishin, Vasily Ivanchuk, and the highly-regarded chess trainer Adrian Mikhalchishin.

The event closed with a ceremony on April 6th that saw players receive their prize money ($60,000 for first place), medals by Adamas Fine Jewelry, and cups by the Imperial Porcelain Factory.

Lviv Today would like to congratulate Maria on her remarkable achievement.